Delaware Valley and Abington Heights both had their chances to score, but neither could convert - until Pat Beatty's hustle and determination paid off.

The Comets' freshman scored in the 40th minute to give his team the critical momentum boost it was looking for. Senior teammate Chris Ferrario tacked on another with two minutes remaining, and top-seeded Abington Heights defeated No. 4 Delaware Valley, 2-0, to advance to Thursday's District 2 Class AAA championship game, where it will face the winner of today's Wyoming Valley West-Wallenpaupack matchup.

The Comets (12-2-1) avenged two losses to the defending district champion, a 3-2 defeat earlier this season and a 4-0 loss in last season's district title match.

"This was one of our better matches all year," Abington Heights coach Steve Klingman said. "We had four guys that came off the bench that did a really nice job, and that made a big difference. We were able to keep the momentum we built."

One of those bench players was Beatty. Three minutes after the Warriors (7-6-2) failed to convert on an open net, Beatty chased down Ferrario's pass and saved it from going past the goal line.

From a difficult angle, Beatty placed his shot perfectly between goalkeeper Jake Marcial, who finished with 11 saves, and the post to give his team a 1-0 lead with 32 seconds remaining in the half.

"Chris played me the ball, and I made a run," Beatty said. "I was at a tough spot, so I just kicked it hoping it would go in. Luckily, it did."

"That was huge before half," Ferrario said. "Ideally, you'd like to score in the first five minutes, but at least we got it before half. It really gave us the confidence and mindset that we needed."

Both teams continued to attack and have chances in the second half. But Delaware Valley, like the first half, couldn't convert on its chances, and Abington Heights finally got the sealing goal it was seeking in the 78th minute.

After Tyler Julian's shot from the top of the box deflected off the crossbar, the ball bounced back out to Ferrario, who blasted a one-timer into the back of the net to send his team back to the championship match.

"Hats off to Abington, it's a great program they have," Delaware Valley coach Aaron Stark said. "Any chance we get to try and beat them, we always play up. We couldn't really get into a flow, and any opportunity we did, they took it away from us.

"It just wasn't our day today."

Contact the writer: shennigan@timesshamrock.com

Delaware Valley (7-6-2) 0 0 - 0

Abington Heights (12-2-1) 1 1 - 2

AH: Pat Beatty (Chris Ferrario). 39:28

AH: Ferrario. 77:56

Shots-corners: DV 5-1, AH 15-7.

Saves: Jake Marcial (DV) 11, Justin Porpiglia (AH) 5.

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